If anything's kept pace with how video games have changed over the years, it's how we interact with them. Our biggest touchpoint with virtual worlds is the gamepad and -- akin to how games themselves have evolved from simple 2D affairs into 100-hour-long labyrinths in three dimensions -- controllers have changed to accommodate that. What you'll find in the gallery below is a comprehensive look at gamepads from the past 30-plus years of gaming, including high points and missteps alike.

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When I entered the doors of the building, an approximately 7-foot Piranha Plant greeted me. Inside, I saw large question block cushions scattered throughout and 25 Wii U stations. Off in the corner was a Mario mascot, posing for photos in front of a big green pipe. If you thought I was in Nintendo Land, you'd be wrong. I was in Facebook's Menlo Park, California, offices. It was the second day of a two-day hackathon collaboration with Nintendo, where employees had the opportunity to create levels with the upcoming game Super Mario Maker. And the ultimate prize? The winning level design would be available to download when the game launches.

Sure, PlayStation Plus subscribers are used to getting "free" games every month, but they haven't had any say about what the gratis titles would be. Until now. With Vote to Play, you'll have a chance to make your voice heard. PlayStation VP of platforms marketing John Koller writes on the PlayStation Blogthat the game with the most votes will automatically be added to the upcoming month's offerings, and that in the first round of voting the runner-up will be available at a discount. Pretty cool, huh? Exactly how the voting process will work (if there will be videos or whatnot to help make informed choices) isn't clear just yet, but Koller writes that more info is coming soon enough. The real question though is if you would've voted for Rocket League, the dark horse from last month's promo that's absolutely dominating the gaming conversation right now.

Nintendo isn't done with the 3DS and Wii U versions of Super Smash Bros. just yet. The company has released an update today which adds tournament modes and the ability to post video replays to YouTube. Both features were teased just before E3, but we weren't expecting a slew of new character outfits and stages to go along with them. Nintendo is offering the Hyrule Castle and Peach's Castle arenas from the original Super Smash Bros. on N64, priced at $1.99 per platform or $2.99 across both. They're joined by a deluge of Mii fighter costumes, including King K. Rool from Donkey Kong, Chrom from Fire Emblem: Awakening and Lloyd Irving from Tales of Symphonia. All eight are available for $0.75 or $1.15 across both 3DS and Wii U. Alternatively, you can get everything as a bundle for $9.98 or $15.18 on both Nintendo systems. One last thing: there's a K.K. Slider Mii Fighter costume from Animal Crossing too. It's free to download and looks darn cute.

It takes about 50 years for a "game" to become a "sport," according to Andrew Paradise's calculations. He's an entrepreneur who recently joined the wave of investors getting in on the eSports game: His app, Skillz, allows mobile-gaming fans to win real money while playing some of their favorite titles. That's right, mobile eSports. From smartphones to dedicated eSports arenas, Paradise knows why professional gaming is a booming market and he explains it all in a straightforward, money-focused manner. If you've ever looked at eSports and wondered, "Why?" Paradise might have your answer.

Nvidia has issued a recall for the Shield Android tablet after determining that its battery "can overheat, posing a fire hazard." Although the recall is voluntary, Nvidia is asking users to back up their data and fill in the relevant online form to receive a replacement. The issue pertains to tablets sold between July 2014 and July 2015. You can check to see if your tablet is affected by heading to the Settings menu, clicking "About tablet," then "Status," and looking at the "Battery" section. If you see "B01," you can carry on using the Shield as normal. If you see "Y01," though, your tablet is at risk of overheating and you should arrange a replacement ASAP.

What's the next step after fully funding your game in 40 minutes on Kickstarter? If you're the team behind Yooka-Laylee, Playtonic, you get a publisher to help with stuff like localization (translating dialogue and text for different regions), QA testing and other unglamorous but still necessary elements of game development. To wit, the former Banjo Kazooie creatives have hooked up with indie label Team17, perhaps best known for the Worms and Alien Breed franchises. This partnership means that Playtonic can worry about working on the game itself while Team17 takes care of the more menial bits and bobs. Good thing, too considering Playtonic is still planning to hit a simultaneous October 2016 release across PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Wii U. If you'd like to check out more, hit the jump for our interview with the folks from the studio.

Gangplank is dead. Riot, the developer of League of Legends, took an unprecedented move this week and killed off one of its champions, the pirate Gangplank. He's completely unavailable in the game right now, even for people who have thrown down real money for skins. Gangplank's surprising death came as part of the Bilgewater event, which builds up the lore in League of Legends' more pirate-y champions, including Gangplank and his apparent assassin, Miss Fortune.

"We encourage all Gangplank fans to remain calm for a few days until we can fully assess the situation," Riot writes. "At this time we are not addressing refund requests for him or his skins but please know that over the next several days we'll do our best to make things right for everyone." The fact that Riot has killed a champion and isn't offering refunds to dedicated players suggests that a larger plot is afoot. What do you think Riot plans to do with Gangplank, now that he's taken a long walk off of his own, short plank?

There's nothing about pies in The Talos Principle. We're probably just hungry. Either way, today we jump into The Road to Gehenna, a bit of DLC for The Talos Principle that features brand new puzzles, a fresh storyline and (most likely) philosophical questions about the meaning of life, humanity and the technological singularity. We're going deep, people. The Talos Principle is a truly incredible game, blending a rich story of gods and robots with mind-bending spatial puzzles in a gorgeous 3D environment. Join us at 5PM ET (2PM PT) on Twitch.tv/Joystiq, the Engadget Gaming homepage, or right here in this post. And, please, try not to laugh too hard when it takes forever to figure out some of these riddles. We can't all be puzzle gods.

Ubisoft's undead-infested, survival-horror game ZombiU was exclusive to Wii U when it launched in 2012, and back then we called it a "wonderfully frightening experience" thick with tension, death and a brilliantly unforgiving atmosphere. Now, the game is dropping the "U" and heading to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC as Zombi on August 18th, complete with a few upgrades and changes. Since Zombi can't take advantage of the Wii U's second screen -- which displayed the mini-map, radar and gear -- these aspects have been moved to the main screen. "We maintain a minimal HUD as much as possible," Zombi producer Hélène Henry says. "It disappears when not required, giving the game a very lonely feeling."

Gran Turismo, Forza Motorsport, Project Cars and other racing games offer a surprisingly realistic depiction of motorsport. It should come as no surprise then to hear that professional drivers are starting to use these virtual depictions as training tools. Max Verstappen, a Formula 1 driver that placed fourth in last weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix, is joining the sim racers at Team Redline to hone his skills. The squad has been running for 15 years and competes using games such as iRacing, Assetto Corsa and rFactor 2. Verstappen isn't the first professional driver to make the leap to virtual racing though -- Richie Stanaway, Nick Catsburg and Kelvin van der Linde have all been snapped up by Team Redline too. It's effectively the reverse of GT Academy, a scheme run by Nissan and PlayStation which gives players the chance to compete in real-life motorsport.

One of the biggest surprises from E3 this year was that Fallout 4 would support user mods across PC and Xbox One. That's still in the cards, but it definitely won't happen at launch. Of course, that's because the tools that'd allow you to, say, replace the game's fearsome bear-like enemies the Yao Guai with 3D models of Yogi the Bear don't exist yet according to IGN. Publisher Bethesda Softworks' vice president of marketing Pete Hines says that the team's focus is on making sure the game ships on time. "Our entire focus is on finishing the game," he said. "Nobody cares about mods if the game sucks." Concise! Once Fallout 4 proper is done (and the team likely takes a bit of a break), work on The Creation Kit will begin; it'll take "clearly into next year," according to Hines.